Private Money Lending Hacks: How to Get Lenders to Trust You

Nobody who is wealthy is keeping their money at the bank.
– April Crossley

Private Money Lending Hacks: How to Get Lenders to Trust You & Fund Deals Without Banks! w/ April Crossley

Bank loans don’t let you build relationships OR scale your business. Not to mention all the deals they won’t even touch!

That’s why today we’re covering: How to create a deal package that lenders want to see, what kind of terms to expect, how to network and find the right lenders when you should use your own private capital.

Our guest is April Crossley. She started as a teenage mom with Zero financial education and dove into real estate working full time, raising a family, and with NO money.

Fast forward to today- in 12 years of investing she’s never used a dime of her own money to buy any of her flips or rental properties.

So whether you want to become a private lender or you just need to be able to close more deals, She’s about to teach you how.

Read the Full Show Notes Below…

April filmed this episode of the CarrotCast from her truck, somewhere out in Arizona. She recently sold her house in PA and hit the road in her RV with her husband.

For April, experiences are more important than things, and she has deliberately built her business with this lifestyle in mind.

She currently operates two flipping companies, holds about 35 rental properties, is an active private lender, and spends her days chasing good weather.

This Moment in Time

We often look at people like April with her multiple properties, companies, and endeavors, and can’t imagine ever getting to where she is. But the truth is, with the right goals, planning, and willingness to learn, goals like April’s can be achieved.

What you are seeing now is this moment in time, not the 10+ years of learning and sweat equity that got her here. Every empire starts with just one deal.

By sticking to a budget and knowing where she wanted to be, April has not only attained financial freedom, but she has also discovered what fuels her.

The Perks of Private Lending

Having a hand-off business is something that is very important to April at this stage of her life. After stumbling into private money lending a few years ago, she realized that it was much easier to review a deal and write a check than it was to chase leads and talk to sellers.

As such, this is where April now spends much of her time. Networking and partnering with other lenders, raising money, and investing in rock-solid deals is what is driving April today, and we completely see why.

The Bucket Method

In order to become a private lender, April needed the capital to do so. Since day 1 of her career in real estate, she had utilized the bucket method to keep her finances in check. Right off the top, she will take 25% of any earnings and allocate it to taxes. She takes 10% and allocates it to charity.

Another 10% goes to a financial freedom fund which is only to be used for reinvestment or private lending. And lastly, another 10% goes to long-term savings to fund things like personal home renovations and family vacations. The rest of her earnings goes toward everyday bills.

By being strict with her money in this way, April has been able to build her wealth over the past few years.

Using Private Money

In the beginning, all of April’s deals were done with private money. Her first deal was a JV where they brought the money and she did all of the work.

Now, several years later, April will still use private money to fund a good portion of her deals. As a lender herself, she knows the importance of a clean presentation.

Lenders don’t analyze the properties themselves because they don’t have time. If you are seeking private money for a project, be sure to put all of the data together in one neat package.

All About the Relationships

Many people think they can just search the internet and find a hard money lender. While this is completely possible, working with private lenders to partner on deals will help you form incredible relationships.

When the right match is formed, they will be eager to lend to you time and time again. They may even refer you to other lenders who want to get in on the deals you are finding. With her strong relationships, April is able to raise cash to fund almost any real estate investment.

April has put in the work and built the relationships that are helping to fuel her lifestyle. She has gotten to where she is by not becoming distracted by what other people are doing. She’s kept her blinders on and built the business that gives her complete and utter freedom.